


Respite

by spoke



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-01-28
Packaged: 2017-11-27 07:32:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoke/pseuds/spoke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jack needs hugs?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Respite

Some nights he just. Lingers outside of the villages, watching them. He’s tried going inside, but he feels like an intruder even though he _knows_ they can’t see him.

Then he feels worse because he knows they can’t see him. 

And really, why hang out just to feel bad? But he feels like he’s missing out on something, like he _misses_ what they’ve got even though he can’t remember ever having it. So he lurks.

And feels just a little like a creep. Sometimes. 

Tonight he’s had enough, again, and he’s just started to head back into the woods when he hears a noise. It’s weirdly familiar, and he turns back to see what’s making it - and sees golden trails sparkling over the roofs. It’s beautiful, and when he flies up to have a look and brushes one, a dolphin comes spiraling out and swims through the air around him. He’s seen them before, by the ships and the shore - they always look they’re having fun, so he likes to hang out with them sometimes.

They just don’t seem to like the cold, so he can’t stay long or get too close. 

After a moment it swims back into the golden stuff, which seems a lot like... sand?

“Hang on, I know this story. The Sandman? Really?” he whispers, and starts darting from window to window, looking. Here a bunny, there a party, another kid’s dreaming of a cat chasing butterflies - and he has to pause for a moment at a snowball fight, because he _knows_ that fight.

He ought to, he started it.

It while he’s laughing at that, that someone else comes into the room. Someone sort of round, and floating, and the same exact color as the sand. Jack is staring like a kid, he knows he is and he shouldn’t but. “Sandman?” he whispers, and grins as the other nods. He’s about to whoop and ask questions when the Sandman puts a finger across his lips. 

“Oh. Right, sleeping kid. Can we talk, though, like. Outside?” 

A sand question mark appears over his head, but he leaves.

It’s only when they get outside that he realizes the question mark hadn’t been a clever way not to wake the kid. “So, you can’t talk at all?” 

Sandman shakes his head, and his sad expression is just as good as words. 

“No answers here, then.” he mutters, and brushes his hand at the reappearance of the question mark. “Nevermind, it’s not. Not that important, anyway.” 

He takes a deep breath, then, and looks at the sand still curling around. “You wanna hang out?” 

Sandman shrugs, but there’s a dolphin swimming around Jack again, and that’s close enough to a yes for him. He spends most of that night following him around and seeing all the cool things the kids dream about, before he feels the wind tugging him away.


End file.
